Ruby -joshler-

chapter two

Josh's P.O.V:

     As soon as I said goodbye to Tyler, I ran off to meet my mom. Then it was my turn to hug my mom and break down. I walked out of the hospital with my mom. We got in the car and began the silent ride home. 

                                                      ***

     I was laying in phone when my phone buzzed. Tyler. I quickly grab my phone from beside me and tap the lock screen. I frown when I see who texted me. Mason. 

Mason: hey josh did u get to visit ur gf in the hospital?

Me: dude, she's not my girlfriend.

Mason: right. care to explain why you've been following her around the past 4 months then?

     I was so pissed when I saw that text from him. I began typing furiously.

Me: Because she's my best friend, you idiot, and she was diagnosed with freaking CANCER!

Mason: god, calm down. it was just a joke!

Me: that was in no way funny. Stop texting me.

Mason: why r u so pissy all of a sudden? 

Me: oh, I don't know, maybe it's the fact that my best friend is dying slowly and painfully?

Mason: get over it man, she's not even dead. plus, people die all the time. if ur mad now, i don't even want to talk to you when she does kick the bucket.

Me: then don't. It's that simple. Leave me alone.

     I turned my notifications off and turned off my phone. Mason was just another douche bag from the group I used to hang out with at school. But when Ava was diagnosed with cancer, I left that group. Her diagnosis was a wake-up call. I was spending my time with stuck-up people who bullied others if they didn't live up to their standards. So I started hanging out with Ava more often. Rumors spread. Everyone figured we were dating. But honest to God, I didn't like her in that way. I just wanted to be able to spend time with her before she left.

     And there I was, a little less than two weeks till Christmas. Laying in bed, wallowing in self-pity and misery. I picked up my phone to see if Mason had bombarded me with any more of his stupid texts. My eyes widened when a number that wasn't in my contacts appeared with one missed call and two texts. I unlocked my phone and checked out the texts.

Unknown Number: Hi Josh, it's Tyler. I was just checking in. You okay?

     Before I even looked at the next text, I added his number as 'Tyler' in my contacts. Then I looked at the second text.

Tyler: I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime.

Me: Hey Ty. Yeah, where do you wanna go?

     I expected him to take a while to reply, since he sent his texts half an hour ago, but his response was immediate.

Tyler: There's this place I always used to go when I needed to cool down or something. It's this one treehouse in the forest by Red Fir High School. Do you know the place?

Me: wait you mean the treehouse with the letters 'j.w.d' carved into the trunk of the tree it's built on?!

Tyler: Yeah, why? Sounds like you've been there before..

Me: dude, I built that one with my dad when I was like 9!!!!! I haven't been there since I was like 15 though. Those are my initials. Joshua William Dun.